Clergy are frequently the first people contacted when members and non-members experience mental distress. We can be cynical and say that that is because we are free and other counselors charge for a session. While there may be some truth to that, I think there is another factor as well. Even in our skeptical age, clergy symbolize the interface between the secular and the divine. When you walk into that hospital room, when you rise to speak in the pulpit, and when someone seeks you out for counseling, you are a priest.
A priest stands in the breach between God and humanity. As was illustrated in the Moses story, a priest both speaks to the people on behalf of God and to God on behalf of the people. Whether you want to or not, you embody a yearning that maybe that great divide can be bridged.
There are times when we would like not to have that role, but it comes with the call. And in that role we expend a tremendous amount of emotional energy. Consider how frequently you move from emotions connected with the baptism of an infant to the trauma of either death or a crisis in people’s lives. Youth almost challenge you to make faith meaningful and then an adult will plead with you to help them make sense out of the diagnosis of cancer. In the middle of this emotional roller-coaster, you are expected to respond with wisdom to the challenge of the budget and attracting new members into the church.
You speak on behalf of God that the people might believe and you cry out to God on behalf of the people. When you consider the emotional drain of seeking to be faithful to this dual role, it is no wonder that we often experience compassion and passion fatigue.
